Field
This disclosure relates to a sensor, analyzer, and method for analyzing at least one analyte in sample.
Description
It is frequently desired to analyze the amount of an analyte in a liquid sample, such as blood or other biological fluids. When sampling analytes in blood, it may be desirable to sample for more than one analyte. This may require using a separate sensor, reagent, and/or sampling apparatus for each analyte. However, using a separate sensor, reagent, and/or sampling apparatus may be time consuming and costly. Therefore, a sensor which can detect and/or measure the concentration of two analytes in a single sampling operation may be desired.
Electrochemical stripping and square wave voltammetry techniques have been developed using colloidal gold based sensors to measure concentrations of various analytes, such as lead, in a blood sample. Some exemplary techniques and apparatuses are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,990, entitled “Handheld Electromonitor Device,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. These techniques allow for low cost, quick, and accurate testing of blood lead concentration; they do not, however, test for any additional analytes.
A correlation between the color of blood samples treated with hydrochloric acid and hemoglobin concentration has long been observed. The Sahli hemoglobin method, developed in the early 1900s and still used today in some parts of the world, estimates blood hemoglobin concentration by matching the color of treated blood to predetermined samples and/or color standards. This method however, remains imprecise and fails to test for any additional analytes.